Botifarra amb Mongetes

Botifarra amb mongetes is Catalan, and it is as plain as a good dish can be: fresh botifarra, white beans, garlic, olive oil, and allioli on the side. What makes it itself is not smoke, spice, or a clever sauce. It is the clean pork sausage and the beans, mongetes, taking on the fat left in the pan.

The method that decides it is the order. Cook the botifarra first, gently enough that the skin browns without bursting and the inside cooks through. Then use that same pan for the beans. They should fry, not stew, so dry them well before they go in. If they hiss when they hit the fat, you're on the right road.

In Catalonia you would look for mongetes del ganxet, the hooked white bean with a thin skin and creamy middle. Far from there, use good dried cannellini or a jar of cooked white beans with no sugar or herbs in it. The jar saves time and costs the dish little, but drain and dry the beans properly or you'll get a wet pan and sad beans.

Serve it with allioli, the garlic and oil sauce, and bread. No hace falta haber pisado España. You need a proper fresh pork sausage, beans that hold their shape, and the patience not to rush the pan. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.